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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · mark · fan · pass · file · roll · race · band

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. band — a ring
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — a contest
  5. pass — a permit
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — the arms race
  9. roll — a cake
  10. band — a music group
  11. mark — a grade
  12. race — humankind
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mark — a trace
  19. date — the fruit
  20. file — a tool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com